Can a Home Gym Give You a Good Workout?

Working out isn’t an easy thing to do. Not only is it difficult physically, it’s time-consuming and most people don’t want others gawking at them while they run on a treadmill. Because of this, a lot of people opt for home gyms over a gym membership.

Home gyms come in all shapes and sizes. You can build a home gym using various pieces of equipment such as a bench set, dumbbells, a treadmill and more. Are these home gyms really an effective way to work out?

The answer is Yes, however it depends on a number of factors, including the home gym you choose, what you’re trying to achieve, and your diet.

Who Needs a Home Gym?

Going to the gym each day is the best way to workout for a lot of people. For others, it’s too embarrassing or there simply isn’t enough time in the day. Home gyms allow you to work out in the comfort of your home without having to spend hours lifting weights.

If you work a lot, have a busy family, or simply don’t want to go to the gym, a gym at home can be a good way to stay active without too much effort. In fact, even working out for 15 or 20 minutes in the morning or evening can improve your overall well-being significantly.

Home gyms are a good workout, but they may not provide the results you’re looking for if you’re a hardcore fitness fanatic. Sometimes you just can’t beat the wide range of equipment that a nice commercial gym offers.

Home Gym Equipment

Any sort of exercise is good, but your home gym will only live up to its full potential if you choose the right equipment. It’s important to make sure you have gym equipment that can work out all the different areas of your body.

Beyond this, you should invest in equipment you enjoy using; if you hate doing leg presses, simply don’t do leg presses – there are numerous other workouts that can work the same muscles.

One thing everybody should have in their home gym is a set of dumbbells.

Dumbbells can be used to work nearly every muscle group in your upper body, and they’re also reasonably affordable. To make sure your dumbbells grow with you, you should consider buying an adjustable set.

A bench press is also a good piece of equipment to have. Benches don’t take up much room and you can pick a set up for a reasonable price. A squat rack isn’t quite as necessary but it will help you with one of the most vital lower-body workouts.

Medicine balls are nice to have as well. You can do just about anything with a medicine ball since it’s simply a weighted ball. You’ll also want to invest in a pull-up bar to make sure your grip strength and upper body strength keep up with your other muscles.

If you want to do cardio in your home gym, you can buy a treadmill or elliptical as well.

Home Gym Packages

If you don’t want to put your home gym together piece by piece, you may want to buy a complete home gym. These are machines designed to work every part of your body while taking up a minimal amount of space.

You can work your shoulders, chest and arms for 15 minutes, then move onto your legs before finishing up with a bit of cardio.

Home gyms come in lots of varieties. Some home gyms use resistance bands to simulate heavy weights and give you a good workout, while others simply allow you to use free weights. Of the two, the free weights are likely to give you a better workout.

Before you purchase a home gym, make sure you do some research regarding its size and your available space. You’ll need some room around the machine to comfortably adjust weights and switch from workout to workout, so don’t buy a home gym that fills every bit of the empty space in your garage.

Since your home gym will experience a lot of wear and tear, look for one with a good warranty. The last thing you want is to spend a good chunk of change on a home gym only for it to break six months into you owning it.

About the Expert

Shawn Clark is Health and Fitness Advisor. For the past 5 years, he is providing nutrition counseling, fitness training and health advice all over Phoenix, Arizona. Specializes on male sexual health, female sexual health, weight loss, detox & dietary supplements. Connect with him on Facebook, Google+, Linkedin and on Twitter.